


An Interlude Part II: Detours are Just Paths We Didn't Know We Were Meant to Walk

by VaderzGirl



Series: An Interlude [2]
Category: The Wayhaven Chronicles (Interactive Fiction)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Porn With Plot, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:55:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27750385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VaderzGirl/pseuds/VaderzGirl
Summary: Part II of 'An Interlude' picks up a few weeks after the end of Part I (if you haven't read Part I, it is here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14665905). Dezh and Unit Bravo return, but find themselves wrapped up in yet more trouble, which may or may not be related to the things they encountered in Part 1. Dezh and Mason grow even closer, in a way neither of them seem to understand. Prepare for more smut, more action, and some surprising twists and turns in this part of their story.A preview from Chapter 1:Instead of answering, Adam merely stared at her. Apparently fighting a smile. “I think you…” He looked away from her, his amusement disappearing in an instant. “I believe we may have some trouble, detective.”And how was this different from any other Tuesday? “What is it?”His icy green eyes darted from one direction to another, scanning the area. “We are surrounded.”Well, that was quick. She didn’t bother asking why he hadn’t sensed them until they were so close. Whatever the reason, she knew him well enough to know he was likely pissed off about it. “How many?” she whispered.“More than we can handle.”
Relationships: Female Detective/Mason (The Wayhaven Chronicles)
Series: An Interlude [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1023738
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	An Interlude Part II: Detours are Just Paths We Didn't Know We Were Meant to Walk

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to FKAScott for beta reading and editing this!

**_Chapter 1  
_**  
Dezh glanced up at the night sky as she and Adam made their way from the town square toward the forest.  
  
Only a handful of stars lit the cloudless sea of black above them, and the flickering streetlamps they passed provided too little light to be useful, especially since half of them didn’t work at all. Had it not been for the nearly full moon, the streets would have been eerily dim, and the forest impossible to traverse. For most people, anyway.  
  
“Did you read the notes Nate gave you?”  
  
Sighing loudly, Dezh glanced over and up at Adam. “I scanned them.”  
  
A half-smile played on the vampire’s lips. “A simple ‘no’ would have sufficed.”  
  
The glare she shot him had no effect whatsoever. “I _did_ look over them,” she said, pursing her lips. “I got the gist of it.”  
  
With one blonde eyebrow raised, he looked down at her with a slight smile. “I have to admit I’m curious, detective. As averse as you are to reading, how did you get through school?”  
  
Sometimes, she was convinced the team leader _tried_ to rile her up. The gods knew he did it easily enough. Of course, so did Mason, but that was an entirely different kind of riling. Rolling her eyes, she scoffed at the question. “It was easy, and I’m not averse to reading. Besides, I told you I looked at them!” To prove her claim, she continued, holding up a finger, “I now know they’re called rakshasa instead of rakshasha. That the females in human form are rakshesha, while in natural form they’re called rakshasi.” Of course, she could’ve sworn Nate said ‘rakshashi’ but when she pointed that out to him, he had informed her that she had misheard. Whatever. “They have incredible eyesight and an excellent sense of smell, but their hearing sucks. It’s no better than an average human, and high-pitched tones cause them pain. And, um…” She dropped her hand. _Shit_. What the hell else did those sheets say?  
  
“That’s all you got from five pages of notes?” The bloody man didn’t bother trying to hide his amusement. “You know I agree with your assessment that combat training is more useful than research, but research _is_ necessary, at times. Especially when preparing for a diplomatic mission.”  
  
Rolling her eyes, Dezh grunted. She supposed he was right, but this whole thing was nuts. The Agency must have been on crack to send not only her, but her _and_ Adam on a diplomatic mission. If someone needed to be punched, sure, then they were the perfect duo. But _diplomacy_? Really? She had no patience for people and Adam had the charm of a wrecking ball covered in rusty spikes. “I’m just surprised Rebecca went along with this.”  
  
“They did ask for you,” he responded matter-of-factly, coming to a stop when they reached the designated meeting place not too far inside the forest. He turned to face her when she stopped beside him. “They even sent an apology for their previous behavior.”  
  
Yeah, they had apologized. So had Padma—the woman had accepted help from the Agency, and was ready to settle down somewhere, but she had wanted her two friends to join her and was convinced they would be as happy as she was with the Agency’s terms.  
  
How would that work, though? One of the pages Nate had given her mentioned something about them eating human flesh. Or something like that—though she had quickly read the first and last pages, Dezh had barely glanced at the rest, so she wasn’t too sure. Did the fact that they were considering this deal mean they could enjoy a nice raw steak, instead? Really, Dezh couldn’t picture the Agency giving them people to eat. Unless they gave them corpses? _Yuck_.  
  
Well, whatever the case, the Agency had agreed to send her and one of Unit Bravo to meet Padma’s friends after they claimed they were afraid to meet with more than two Agency representatives at once. Probably because Tane and Maaka had so easily kicked their asses and sent them running. Tane had gotten a kick out of that theory when Dezh had texted it to him.  
  
“You do not seem concerned.”  
  
Glancing over at Adam, Dezh shrugged. “Why would I be?”  
  
That half-smile returned to the agent’s lips. “Fear can keep us alive, Nadezhda.”  
  
“What keeps us alive is strength. And fighting.” With a sigh, she waved her hand around them. “Plus, that’s why we’re meeting so close to a public area. It’s safer or whatever.” How, she wasn’t certain. If anything, it seemed foolish to meet this close to the square. If this turned out to be a trap, civilians could be endangered. If any of them were up at 3 a.m., anyway.  
  
“Hmm,” Adam mused, his features twisting into a thoughtful expression, “where was that fighting nature when you encountered that spider in the training room the other day?”  
  
Wonderful. Why was it that Mr. Robot only displayed a sense of humor when it was at her expense? All because she had jumped on a training dummy’s head to avoid a spider in the training room, one that had clearly been out to get her. Adam had actually laughed—loudly! “Aren’t you the one always telling me that sometimes you should run?”  
  
“Yet the only time you heed that advice is when you see an insect,” he responded with a chuckle.  
  
Caught between the urge to glare and the amused smile that threatened to break free, she settled for rolling her eyes. “Well, if we’re ever overrun by spider-looking aliens, you and the rest of the team are on your own. Those skateboard ghouls—”  
  
“Escara ghouls,” the team leader corrected.  
  
“Whatever. All those spiders crawling out of it was fucking nasty.” She shuddered, a horrible thought coming to mind. “There aren’t any supernaturals that are just gigantic bugs, are there? Like that’s their natural state?”  
  
Instead of answering, Adam merely stared at her. Apparently fighting a smile. “I think you…” He looked away from her, his amusement disappearing in an instant. “I believe we may have some trouble, detective.”  
  
And how was this different from any other Tuesday? “What is it?”  
  
His icy green eyes darted from one direction to another, scanning the area. “We are surrounded.”  
  
Well, that was quick. She didn’t bother asking why he hadn’t sensed them until they were so close. Whatever the reason, she knew him well enough to know he was likely pissed off about it. “How many?” she whispered.  
  
“More than we can handle.”  
  
_Well, that’s just fucking great._ With a sigh, she rolled her head around to crack her neck.  
  
“Detective Volkov.”  
  
Dezh turned her head toward whoever called her name, squinting in an effort to see them. Even with the light from the moon streaming through the treetops, however, all she could see was a big dark blob. Only the one, though, which meant that the others Adam sensed were hiding. “What!”  
  
“Tell your vampire friend to leave,” the blob said, moving a few steps closer. Not close enough for her to make out his form. Or was this some illusion trick? He looked like a shadow, rather than a person. Not quite corporeal. “As long as he moves aside, there’s no need for us to hurt him.”  
  
At her side, Adam tensed. “That is not going to happen.”  
  
The blob laughed, a discordant, grating noise that made Dezh’s skin crawl. “We’re taking her, _agent_. We can do it the easy way or over your corpse. Doesn’t matter much to me either way, but there are enough of us to finish you.” Another chuckle and he added, “And we’ve combed the area. There are no others out and about tonight. So do yourself a favor and sod off.”  
  
“Go,” Dezh ordered without hesitation, keeping her voice soft so only the team leader could hear.  
  
Adam grinded his teeth together and scoffed. “No. You’re insane if you think I’m handing you over to them.”  
  
“Can you outrun them?”  
  
“You really should have read Nate’s notes.”  
  
“Is now really the time to nag me, Adam?” she growled softly, shaking her head. “Can you outrun them or not?”  
  
Though he made the word sound as though it had been torn from his gut with a scythe, he answered quietly, “No.”  
  
“We fight them, they take me and possibly kill you. You grab me and run, they catch us. We don’t have a whole lot of opt—”  
  
“I’m waiting,” the blob sing-songed, sounding way too pleased with himself. Someone apparently needed a strong kick to the nuts.  
  
“Gimme a minute!” Dezh snapped, yelling so loud that Adam cringed. Under her breath, she added, “What an asshole.”  
  
“Nadezhda…”  
  
Rolling her eyes, Dezh looked up at Adam again. “Go get help.” When he opened his mouth to argue, she stopped him. “I can manage until you get back. I’ve got the Volt, some spray DMB…” Hesitantly, she added, “And some grenades Bentley gave me to field test.” Though she wasn’t lying, she wasn’t quite telling the entire story. The scientist _had_ concocted the mixture that produced the smoke they emitted and asked her to find a way to test it. The smoke grenades had been Dezh’s idea. Adam didn’t really need to know that, however.  
  
“But—”  
  
“Just fucking go already,” she growled.  
  
Glancing in the blob’s direction, Adam spoke between clenched teeth. “Don’t do anything reckless while I’m gone.”  
  
A smirk formed on Dezh’s lips. “Oh, I’d never—” Before she could finish, Adam growled and flashed out of sight. She just hoped the big stick-in-the-mud wasn’t gone too long. If Bentley’s magical green smoke didn’t work as planned, she was pretty much fucked.  
  
“I’m shocked you managed to get rid of him.”  
  
Dezh turned toward the blob and tilted her head, then gave a shrug. “That’s because you’re a moron.”  
  
The insult, weak as it was, made the blob snarl. And it sounded slobbery. Ugh, she hoped this thing didn’t drool on her. “Come to me,” he ordered in a dramatically authoritative tone.  
  
Wait, was he trying to use his powers on her to make her obey him? If so, he was dumber than she imagined. Still, she walked toward him, trying to make it appear as if it were against her will. As if she was fighting it. People could fight this jerk’s compulsion, right? As she drew closer and reached into her pocket to wrap her fingers around one of the grenades, she wondered if the rest of Nate’s notes had contained that sort of information.  
  
“Good,” he crooned in a grating, phlegmy voice. The air around the dark blob shimmered and his face slowly became visible. He looked mostly human—with dark hair that just barely touched his broad shoulders and a strong, angled jaw, he could’ve passed for any of a dozen male models. But his slitted black eyes held an unearthly quality that gave away his true nature. Odd, that. Most supernaturals looked fully human. Maybe veils didn’t work perfectly on them?  
  
Dezh’s thoughts stopped short and her gaze shot to the right when others stepped out of the shadows. These were not in human form—they were hulking beasts with two long, visible fangs and sharp-looking claws. The night Padma had tried to take her, Dezh hadn’t gotten a good look at her beastly form—now, she realized what she had been fighting. The lot of them sniffed the air, moving closer to her. Her muscles tensed.  
  
A slender finger touched her chin, drawing her eyes back to the leader, and it was all she could do to keep from attacking him right then and there. But she was supposed to be under his thrall or frightened, so she refrained.  
  
“Focus on me, not them.” Another order, in that voice that made him sound like he’d swallowed broken glass. He looked much too pleased with himself when she met and held his gaze. “As long as you obey me, I can make you comfortable. Now…”  
  
Keeping her expression blank, she ignored his rambling—something about them taking her somewhere far away—and slipped her thumbs through the pins in the grenades in her pockets. The slim metal pieces weren’t long, not as long as typical, but she figured it was better not to move too quickly, not with so many of these assholes surrounding her. They could grab her before she managed to get them ready. So, ever so slowly, she eased the pins out. She almost had them free when the metal scraping metal sound filled the temporary silence from the leader. _Shit_. A cacophony of growls filled the air. Yep, they heard that.  
  
“Stop,” the leader ordered, his face like a dark thundercloud as he moved even closer to her. The idiot didn’t have enough sense to fear her. “What’s in your pockets? Show me, now!”  
  
The corners of Dezh’s mouth tilted upwards as she eased out the grenades and popped the pins free. Just as her hands became visible to those around her, she opened her left palm and let the first grenade roll from her grasp.  
  
The thing hit the ground in a millisecond—being short did have some advantages—causing a loud popping noise just as a thick green cloud of smoke to form and spread. For a handful of seconds, they all appeared too stunned to react, likely from the noise, which left her own ears ringing. The leader frowned and stumbled backwards with a horrified expression, while the supernaturals nearest her shifted to human form as soon as the smoke touched them. They all slowly dominoed to the ground.  
  
Raising her right hand and turning to the right, she threw the other grenade down with as much force as she could muster. Something flashed near her and a clawed hand caught the object just before it hit the ground. But she’d thrown it hard enough that it didn’t matter. Dezh snorted as the smoke began pouring from it, right into the jerk’s face. “It’s an impact grenade, you stupid f—oof!”  
  
Something hit her so quickly and so forcefully that it knocked the air from her lungs and left her disoriented for several seconds. As her senses returned, she realized she was now flung over someone’s shoulder. Fighting to break free did nothing, other than to cause the iron-clad grip around her thighs to tighten. But she did manage to catch a glimpse at what had her—and her wannabe captor was definitely not in human form.  
  
“Shit,” Dezh growled as the giant slobbery beast flashed through the forest. Grunting, she reached into the front of her shirt and yanked the OTF auto tanto knife from her bra. A flash of white stone caught her eye and she only glanced up long enough to see they had reached the cemetery. One flick of her thumb brought the four-inch serrated blade to bear and, with both hands, she slammed it into the base of her captor’s spine.  
  
The rakshasa howled and stumbled, struggling to keep moving. That struggle was lost when Dezh pulled out the blade and slammed it in yet again. And again. When the rakshasa went down, he took her with him.  
  
As her back slammed against the ground, the wind was knocked out of her yet again. That the oversized beast landed on top of her didn’t help matters, but its hands—claws, whatever—reached around to its back. It was too good of an opportunity to waste. Still fighting for air, she slammed the knife into its skull. Well, she tried to, anyway—the damned blade only went through its thick head about an inch. Enough to set the rakshasa bellowing again. It took effort to keep her hold on the handle and jerk the blade free when the bloody beast reared back, howling so loudly it hurt her ears.  
  
After a moment, the beast’s head moved toward her again. Its long, sinewy fingers wrapped around her throat, squeezing hard enough to cut off her ability to breathe. Thick strands of drool dangled from its lips as it inched toward her with its mouth open and long canines bared to bite. Disgusting as it was, she ignored it and waited for its face to get closer, close enough to shove her blade straight into one of the creature’s eyes. It wailed and rolled off of her to its knees.  
  
Scrambling to her feet, Dezh reached down and pulled her blade free. The rakshasa swung wildly at her midsection with a clawed hand, but she jumped back and sliced its wrist with her blade. It yelled again, grasping its arm. Did these guys have a really low threshold for pain or something? That was barely a flesh wound and it acted as though she’d ripped its innards out! Frowning, she closed in and swung her foot around to kick it in the head to finish the fight.  
  
Well, that was her intent.  
  
Whether or not the creature went down, she didn’t know. As soon as her foot connected with her target, something slammed into her from the side and sent her flying. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the air swooshed around her and she drifted over numerous headstones. She turned her head to see a particularly large marble headstone rushing at her and braced herself for impact.  
  
Just as she was about to hit, however, two strong arms snatched her from the air and carried her—in a flash—in another direction. The stop was sudden, so sudden that she instinctively latched on to the one who held her. Taut muscles twitched under her fingers, and a whiff of sandalwood tickled her nose. _Mason._ She inched her chin up to meet his grey gaze, a smirk playing on her lips. “Good catch,” she joked breathlessly, wondering why her voice held a slight tremble to it.  
  
For a moment, he just looked down at her, his brow creased in… confusion? A storm seemed to pass through his gaze, but then one corner of his mouth quirked up. “Definitely.” After a slight hesitation, he added, “You all right, sweetheart?”  
  
It was a simple question, one Dezh should’ve been able to answer without feeling a hitch in her chest. Her mind hurried to make sense of the strange physical response to such an innocuous question. Maybe it was the fact that he still had his arms wrapped around her, keeping her pressed against him. Or maybe it was the raw, undefinable look in his stormy grey eyes.  
  
Or, maybe, that rakshasa had knocked her so hard it scrambled her brain.  
  
Whatever the case, the longer she stood there endeavoring to voice an answer, the more Mason’s wolfish features seemed to twist in a way that left her heart pounding almost painfully. “I’m fine,” she finally choked out in a hoarse whisper. “You don’t have to worry about me.” As soon as the words left her lips, she almost cringed. What the hell was she thinking? As she opened her mouth to amend her statement—Mason was _not_ worried, and was probably just irritated he had to save her as again—one of his hands moved away from her waist and he brushed the backs of his fingers over her cheek. The touch was so light she couldn’t stop her eyes from fluttering closed or hold back the soft sigh that escaped her lips.  
  
Though he said nothing, he used his thumb to tilt her face up until her gaze met his. If he had appeared confused before, he looked damned well troubled now. His grey eyes held hers captive, as though he were searching for something. Moments passed—though they could have just as easily been hours—and then he tilted his head, his attention drifting over her face and settling on her lips. The arm he still had wrapped around her tightened as the fingers of his other hand slid down her throat, over her shoulder, then around the back of her neck. His mouth inched closer to hers. Slowly. Deliberately. When he was close enough so she could feel his warm breath on her skin, Dezh felt that same strange hitch in her chest from before.  
  
“There you two are.”  
  
At the sounds of Nate’s voice, Mason jerked away from Dezh so quickly it made her head spin. She stumbled back a few steps and swung her head around to look at the tall vampire.  
  
“Are you okay?” Though he sounded as sincere as ever, he appeared to be fighting a smile as he eyed the two of them.  
  
It took a few blinks before she realized she had been in the middle of a fight only a minute or so ago. Maybe her brain _was_ scrambled from the fight. “Yeah, I was…” Frowning, she looked back to where the rakshasa had been. It was gone. “Where—”  
  
“His friend crashed into you, then grabbed him and ran when I kept you from hitting _that_.” Mason gestured toward the large marble headstone a few yards behind him, his expression almost grim.  
  
Dezh drew in a deep breath that did absolutely nothing to clear her mind. There was some kind of weird energy bouncing between her and Mason, and it was leaving her off-kilter. “Thanks,” she said quietly, only meeting his gaze for a millisecond before looking away.  
  
“If you want a suggestion on how to thank me,” he purred, drawing her attention back to him, “I have an idea.”  
  
And, just like that, things were normal again. A smirk came to her lips. “Can you wait until we get to my place? Or you want me to _thank you_ right here in front of Nate?”  
  
“Please,” Nate groaned, “can’t you two stop until we get things settled here first? Adam and Felix are waiting.”  
  
Guilt made Dezh cringe. Shit, she and Mason were standing there doing… whatever the hell it was, while the others were dealing with the mess. “Are they okay?” she asked, already starting toward the spot she’d left the drug-filled rakshasa. The two men fell into step with her, one on either side. “They didn’t step into the smoke, did they?”  
  
“They’re fine,” Nate soothed, touching her arm to slow her down. “Those smoke bombs you used—”  
  
“Grenades,” she corrected.  
  
“Yes, grenades. The clouds of smoke they produced knocked most of the rakshasas out and weakened the others in the near vicinity. Everything is under control and Adam is calling the Agency to come fetch them.” What the hell for? That wasn’t the way they did things. As if in answer to her unspoken question, he continued, “Normally, the Agency would let them go since they hurt no one, but their plan to take you is concerning.”  
  
Dezh rolled her eyes and groaned. “Oh, please. It’s not like the Agency is going to lock them up for this, and making a show of questioning them isn’t going to stop them. Or anyone else who decides I’d make a good snack.”  
  
“You shouldn’t be so flippant about this, Dezh. The Agency has ways of convincing—”  
  
“What’re they gonna do, Nate?” she interrupted, side-eying him. “Drag in every supernatural that decides they want a taste of me? We knew this would happen, and now that word’s out that someone in Wayhaven has special blood, stuff like this will happen more. And, sooner or later, someone will leak my identity.” If they hadn’t already. That was a distinct possibility. And if not, she waved behind her and snorted, “Those two that got away have it. Once that becomes common knowledge, and they know where I live and work, stuff like tonight will become the norm.”  
  
“You think we’d let them get you?” Mason asked the question so quietly that Dezh wondered if she’d imagined it, but when she turned her attention toward him, he was looking down at her with that strange expression he sometimes affected.  
  
“No,” she blurted out without hesitation, “I know you wouldn’t. But it’s not like you’re always going to be…” Brow furrowing, she left the thought hanging. Before either of the vampires could speak, she hurriedly added, “I just think we need to get used to this is all.”  
  
Nate made an indescribable noise. When he spoke, his words were laden with something akin to pity. “Most people don’t have to get used to attempted kidnappings.”  
  
“Yeah, well, it is what it is.” Sighing, she added, “I’m just glad I had those grenades.”  
  
“What was that stuff, anyway?”  
  
Turning to look up at Mason again, Dezh shrugged. “Some crap Bentley wanted me to field test for him.”  
  
Nate hummed softly. “That’s not how testing for new weapons is usually handled.”  
  
“That guy doesn’t seem to do anything by the book,” Mason offered, “just like someone else we know.”  
  
Dezh cocked a brow at him. “If he hadn’t given it to me, I wouldn’t be here.” Mason’s mouth tightened at that, for some reason, so she hammered her point home. “DMB spray wasn’t going to stop that many of them. That’s like using mace against a goddamned army.”  
  
Thankfully, silence reigned for the minute or so it took them to reach Felix, who was standing guard a short distance from the two smoke clouds. The green smoke has dissipated somewhat, but was obviously still enough to keep the supernaturals in hand. Scanning the area, Dezh frowned and looked to Felix. “Where’s Adam?”  
  
“A couple minutes ago,” Felix explained, “two of these guys came out of the forest and took off toward the square. Adam went after them.”  
  
Jaw tightening so intensely she feared her teeth may crack, Dezh started toward the square. She only made it two steps before a hand caught her by the arm and stopped her. Somehow—she wasn’t certain how—she knew it was Mason before she ever spun to face him. “Mason, I have to—”  
  
“He’s already on his way back, Dezh,” he told her quietly. His gaze turned from her and toward the square. After a moment, his mouth twisted into a sneer and he added, “He’s with somebody. A human.”  
  
What the hell was Adam doing with a human? Dezh squinted in the direction of the square and there were, indeed, two figures moving toward them. They just looked like shadowy blobs, though. One ridiculously tall, the other not.  
  
“Maybe someone from the Agency,” Nate offered idly. “Or…” Trailing off with a confused expression, he chuckled. “Or not.”  
  
“What the hell?” Mason growled. “It’s the bobblehead.”  
  
Bobblehead? Dezh looked up at him, then back toward the pair headed their way. If she’d had better night vision, she might have been able to tell who they were now. “Tina? Why would he bring Tina here? Has he lost his fucking—”  
  
“I have not lost my mind,” Adam called out, slowly becoming discernible in the darkness. “We have a situation.”  
  
What the hell was that supposed to mean? “What kind of situation?” And how were they supposed to explain all these unconscious supernaturals to the damned woman?  
  
Tina’s dark features became identifiable only a moment later. “Gee, I don’t know, Dezh. Maybe the fact that a couple of rakshasas ran in front of my car. And while I was watching them, I hit _him_ ”—she gestured at Adam—“and saw him bounce across the pavement like a big rubber ball, then get up like nothing happened.”  
  
Oh. Well. “Shit.” Dezh glanced at Adam, who looked like he’d eaten a barrel of rotten fruit. “Umm…” Fuck! Rubbing the back of her head, she struggled for something to say. Oddly, the first question that came to mind was, “How do you know what a rakshasa is?”  
  
“I read about them,” Tina explained.  
  
“That makes one of you,” Felix quipped, then flashed an innocent grin when Dezh glared at him.  
  
“Why? Of all things to read about, why this?”  
  
“You told me to!”  
  
To read about rakshasas? That was absurd! “Are you delusional? I never told you to—”  
  
“After that thing at the bed and breakfast, remember? You were in your office and I asked about what happened. You gave me some weird answers that made no sense, so I asked if you’d think I was crazy if I told you I thought there was something supernatural at work in this town. Do you remember what you said?”  
  
Dezh remembered it well enough. “All I said was ‘nope’ and let it drop! It wasn’t like I told you to go investigate the supernatural!”  
  
“You may as well have, and you said it with an amused smirk. Normally, you’d have told me I was nuts and glared!”  
  
A soft chuckle brought Dezh’s gaze to Felix. “She has a point, you know.”  
  
Tina nodded at him, then glanced up at the team leader. “So, what are you?” When no one offered an answer, she continued, “Fae? Vampire? Werewolf?”  
  
Adam scoffed so loudly at the last that Dezh nearly laughed.  
  
“You don’t like werewolves, then?” Tina prompted, sounding more amused than anything. “Okay, that’s one off the list. Seraphim? Incubi?” Mason groaned, but the woman kept going without pause. “Werehyenas?”  
  
“What the fuck is a werehyena?” Dezh sneered, looking to Nate. “Is that really a thing?”  
  
“Well…”  
  
“We’re vampires.” All eyes fell on Felix with the weight of several sledgehammers, but he just shrugged. “She would’ve kept going all night unless we answered. And I’m tired of standing here.”  
  
Mason groaned. “Well this is just great.”  
  
On the ground, one of the rakshasas stirred. Wonderful. Now they were waking up. The green smoke was dissipating quicker. Hopefully, the Agency would be there soon before they had a bunch of un-drugged rakshasas to deal with.  
  
“We need to take her to the facility,” Adam said between clenched teeth. “Once they get here.”  
  
Tina spun on the team leader. “So you can do some weird _Men In Black_ mind wipey thing on me? I don’t think so.”  
  
When everyone started arguing, Dezh tuned them out and resisted the urge to scream. Did the Agency even have something like that? It wouldn’t have surprised her, really. “Everyone shut up!” Scowling, she ignored the glares directed at her and turned her attention to Tina, who now had her arms crossed over her chest with a stubborn expression on her face. “He’s worried you’ll run your mouth about this.”  
  
“Pfft. What would be the point of that? Anyone I told would either think I was insane or they’d freak out and tell everyone in town. It would be pandemonium.” Tina’s gaze went to Adam again. “You have my word that I won’t say anything, but you aren’t wiping my mind.”  
  
Before Adam could speak, Dezh stopped him. “If she says she’ll keep the secret, she will.”  
  
“Ooh!” Felix grinned and stepped closer. “Does she know your secrets?”  
  
Dezh growled, “A couple of them. Enough for me to know she can keep her mouth shut.”  
  
“I do have questions, though.”  
  
“Keep them to yourself,” Mason snarled.  
  
Tina fixed him with a look, clearly unaffected by his hostility. “I’m already used to dealing with _her_ ”—she gestured toward Dezh—“so your grumpy self doesn’t scare me.” The declaration only made Mason growl more, but the woman just ignored him. “Well, unless you all need help with this lot, I need to get going.”  
  
One glance at Adam’s constipated-looking mug was all it took to make Dezh hurriedly respond, “You can take off.”  
  
“Good. And, uh…” Her face contorted in a weird way, as though she were hesitant to speak. Not like Tina at all. “I already talked to the captain about this, but I’m headed out of town to stay with an old friend who’s having surgery Thursday. I won’t be back for a couple of weeks.”  
  
“Aren’t you supposed to teach that self-defense class on Saturday?”  
  
“Self-defense class for whom?”  
  
Dezh’s gaze darted to Nate. “For the town. After that mess at the bed and breakfast, a few people freaked out and the mayor insisted on having the station offer free self-defense classes for anyone interested.” Gesturing toward Tina, she snorted. “So Tina got volunteered to be the one to teach them.”  
  
“You mean _you_ volunteered me for it.”  
  
Shrugging, Dezh tried to hide a grin. “Better you than me. Guess they’ll have to reschedule since you’ll be gone.”  
  
“Not exactly.” Tina’s dark eyes sparkled with the silver light of the moon, and her sly smile gave away exactly why she’d been so reluctant to share her plans. “You—”  
  
“No,” Dezh growled. “I am _not_ teaching that class! They can just—”  
  
“It’s already been decided. When I called the captain to tell him I had to leave town, he decided you’d take over. But you’ll do fine.” A cough did nothing to cover up the other woman’s amusement. “Just don’t punch anyone too hard. I’ll talk to you when I get back!”  
  
Dezh glared at Tina’s back as she departed, her mood growing worse with each second that ticked by. Only vaguely did she notice the discussion around her. Lost in thought, she never saw who guided her out of the way of the agents who showed up to take the rakshasas to the facility. She barely even noticed that the sky had begun to grow light from the approaching dawn. It was only when Adam planted himself in front of her that she was drawn from her thoughts.  
  
“Why are you so distraught about teaching self-defense?” he asked bluntly, tilting his head when she looked up to meet his gaze. “You excel at combat. The task seems perfect for you.”  
  
For a scant few moments, Dezh stared at him with wide eyes and her jaw hanging open like an idiot. His compliments and approval were coming more often of late, something that still threw her off balance. One blonde eyebrow cocked, Adam merely waited. Finally, she let out a breath. “I know how to fight. I can’t _teach_. I don’t even know where to start. My first Aikido class was when I was five! I don’t remember what crap they taught first! Plus, I hate dealing with a bunch of people at once.” Or at all, really. There were some exceptions to that rule—like Unit Bravo—but, for the most part, she preferred to avoid most people. “I don’t do people.”  
  
“Just vampires, then?” Mason’s question caused her head to swivel toward him. She hadn’t even realized he had joined them. “I mean, you’ve done me more than—”  
  
“Mason!”  
  
Barking a laugh, Dezh looked over at Nate. When the hell had he joined them? And Felix was right there as well, with a shit-eating grin. “Well, he’s not wrong about that. But that’s not what I meant.”  
  
“I could help, if you want,” Nate offered with a soft smile.  
  
Adam scoffed. “I doubt the intent is to teach people to fend off attackers by waving dusty tomes at them.”  
  
Unable to keep it in, Dezh snickered. And quickly covered her mouth when Nate shot her an offended glare. “Sorry, but that was funny.” And accurate—Nate was too soft-hearted to teach combat. She sparred with him once and had quickly gotten angry that he treated her like she was made of spun glass. And he _knew_ she could fight!  
  
“I could help you, if you wish,” Adam offered, waiting for her to meet his gaze before continuing. “Instead of our normal training session, we can work together on a lesson plan for your class.”  
  
“You’d do that?” she blurted out. Amusement danced in his icy green eyes as he nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I’d appreciate that.”  
  
Silence fell over the team as they walked to the square, but it was perfectly comfortable. Dezh had to admit, even if it was only to herself, that Adam’s offer had shocked her. Perhaps it shouldn’t have. They had told her often enough that she was one of them and, though some part of her believed they were just saying that, she really did feel like it was true.  
  
And Adam had, oddly enough, become one of her most trusted friends, even if the big jackass still called her by her title most of the time, something he didn’t do to anyone else on the team. But despite that—despite that little voice in her head that kept reminding her that none of this would last—she trusted them all, Adam included. Given her lack of trust for the universe as a whole, it was an odd feeling, one she wasn’t certain she could get used to. More than that, it was one she wasn’t certain she _should_ get used to.  
  
Well, all she could do at this point was take it one day at a time.  
  
Her thoughts slowly returned to the moment when she felt Mason’s fingers curl around the back of her neck and heard him tell the others he would walk her home. As they started down the street and he tugged her closer, she couldn’t hold back a smile.  
  
One day at a time wasn’t so bad. And today, at least, was a very good day.  



End file.
